Button-sewing attachment.



H. H. HGLDAWAY. BUTTON SEWING ATTACHMENT.

* N FILED APR. 21, 1913. RENEWED JULY 6,1914. 1,1 O8 074. Patented Aug. 18, 1914 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

u@ @im 7% IIALL H. HoLLAWAY, oF

BUTTON-SEWING- ATTACHMENT.

Application filed April 21, 1913, Serial No.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HALL H. HoLDAwAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented a new and useful Button-Sewing Attachment, of which the followingl is a specification.

This invention relates to attachments for sewing machines to facilitate the sewing of buttons onto goods or fabric.

The main object of the invention is to provide a device of great simplicity andeiectiveness for this purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a button sewing device, which is adapted to sew buttons by diagonal stitches.

Another object of the invention is to provide a button sewing device which can be set to different operative positions so as to sew the button either by diagonal stitches or by straight cross stitches.

Another object of the invention is tok provide for adjustment of the length of the stitch in accordance with the distance between the holes in the buttons.

A further object of the invention is to provide for adjustment of the operating connections to enable the proper operation of the device by needle bars of different machines, having various limits of stroke.

Another object of the invention is to provide for adjustment of the device on the sewing machine table.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of my invention, and referring thereto'. Figure 1 is a plan view of the attachment. Fig. 2 is a section on line w2-2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end view of the attachment, showing the needle bar and machine table. Fig. 1 is a vertical section on line mL-i, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line y005-:c5, Fig. 2, showing the supporting plate, the work holder and the operating means for producing and controlling the reciprocating movements of the work holder, showing the parts set to position for producing a diagonal stitch. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the parts set for producing a diagonal stitch crosswise to that produced by the setting of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a section on line wL-a, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a plan of the controlling disk removed from the attachment.'

sAL'r LAKE CITY, UTAH, AssIGNoR rro FRANKLIN SPENCER, JR., o-F Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

762,725. Renewed July 6, 1914. Serial No. 849,244.

work holder. Means are provided for guidythe bar 6 is provided with a pin 11,

Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

1 designates a base or supporting plate which is adapted to be secured on the table 1a V'of the sewing machine in any suitable manner, for example, by engagement of a pin 2 on base plate 1 with a suitable socket 2a in said sewing machine table, and by en-` gagement of the presser bar 3 on the head of the sewing machine with a bracket 3 mounted on the plate 1. Said plate 1 is formed with a slot or opening 4 beneath and adjacent to the position occupied by the needle bar m of the sewing machine to allow passage and movement of needle y in the operation of the Sewing machine.

A work holder is provided in the form of a bar or strip 6 connected by a pivot 7 at one end to an operating lever 8 which is fulcrumed at 9 as hereinafter set forth, and is oscillated by suitable means for producing a reciprocating movement of the work holder along a line b, b. A clamp lever 5 is pivotally mounted on bar 6 and has its louter end portion 5 bent down close to the outer end portion 6 of bar 6, a spring 10 acting on bar 6 and lever 5 so as to force the portion 5 toward the portion 6', the portions 5 and 6 acting as jaws or gripping members for the -fabric ci and button e, and being provided with slots or openings 17 for passage of the needle. Said slots or openings 17 register with one another and are preferably H-shaped, with notches 17 at'the corners s0 as to provide maximum bearing surface for the work, while forming a passage for the needle and thread in all positions of the ing said work holder in such a manner that the work carried thereby will be reciprocated along the line of reciprocation b, b, or diagonal thereto as desired. For this purpose which extends down through .a slot 12 in a disk 13 which occupies and is rotatable in a circular hole 14 in the base plate 1, being retained in said hole by means of an upset iiange 15 at the bottom of said disk, and by an outwardly extending flange 13 at the top of the disk. Said disk is provided with ya handle 16 whereby' it may be turned to different angular positions so as to cause the slot 12 to extend in alinement with the line b, b, of reciprocation of the bar 6 ory diagonal to the said line as hereinafter explained, and a locking device or dog 18 is provided for holding the said disk in either one of these positions, said dog being pivoted to base 1 and having' a V shaped tooth 18 adapted to releasably engage in any of a' series of notches 1D in the edge of Hange 13 of said disk, a spring 2O operating on said dog to force the tooth or projection 18 1nto engagen'ient with the notches in the disk, so as to prevent accidental displacement, and yet permit the disk to be set to any point by manipulating handle 1G.

'lhe fulcrum 9 for the operating lever 8 is preferably adjustable lengthwise of said lever to shift the pivotal point and thereby vary or adjust the throw of the work holder. F or this purpose said fulcrum 9 is carried by an arm 23 pivoted at 24 on the base and having a handle 25 for operation thereof, and lprovided with a downturned lug 26 adapted to snap into any one of the series of notches 27 on the base to hold the fulcrum in set position. Said fulcrum works in a longitudinal slot 29 in the lever S so that in any position of thefulorum thelever 8 will engage with said fulcrum so as to rock thereon. Such rocking movement c of the lever 8 is produced by an operating yoke or anchor 30 pivoted at 31 to the base and pivotally connected at 32 to the lever 8, said anchor having arms or projections 33, 34 adapted to engage with the periphery of a star` wheel 39 mounted on a stud 40 on the base wheel `39 is a ratchet wheel 42 engaged `by a pawl 43 carried by shaft 44 journaled in brackets 45, 45 on the base l, said pawl 43 being operated by a spring 47 so as to hold it in engagement with the ratchet wheel while permitting the pawl to ride outwardly in its backward movement over the ratchet wheel. A retaining pawl 4G, operated by spring 48 is provided for ratchet wheel 42. A spring 4.() is connected to shaft44 and to `the fixed bracket 45 so to turn the shaft back to normal position. Said shaft is adapted to be operated by theneedle bar a; of the sewing machine by means of an arm 50 on said shaft which is adapted to engage with a suitable part such as a screw .e on the needle bar, and is adjustably connected to the shaft by means of a clamp screw 51 on said arm engaging in a slotted arm 52 rigidly mounted on the shaft 44.

The operation is as follows: lThe attachment having been secured in place on the table of the sewing machine, as above dcscribed, the clamp lever 5 is depressed at its handle portion 21, so Y portions 5 thereof and the fabric and but* ton to be sewed thereto are then inserted between the grip or clamp portions 5 and G and the clamp lever then released so as to allow the spring 17 to force the clamp portion. 5 down onto the button and hold the button firmly in positionon the fabric during the sewing operation. If a straight i downward movement of the needle bar shaft or pivot l. Attached to said star j thereof, holding portions 5 as to raise the grip `cross stitches have ycross stitches may cross stitch is desired, the controlling device 13 is placed in position shown in Fig. 1, and in the normal position of the parts, the bar 6 is at the extreme right hand position. The operator will first set the ful cram lever 23 in position to give the proper throw to the work holder so as to reciprocate the butto-n crosswise the distance between the two button holes, the button being so placed in the holder that when the reciprocation of the bar 6 is at one end of its stroke, one of the button holes is brought under the needle and when the bar is at the other end of its stroke, the other button hole is brought under the needle. The sewing machine is then started in operation, causing' the arm 50 to be raised at each upward movement of the needle bar of the sewing machine Aand to be lowered in the by operation of the spring 49. The resultant rocking motion of the shaft 44 operates through the pawl 43 to turn the ratchet wheel 22 one tooth at each upward movement of the needle bar, the pawl slipping idly over the ratchet wheel in the return movement. The star wheel 39 is thereby moved step by step, each movement being equalto one half the distance between the projections of the star wheel and the operating anchor 30 is thereby caused to rock `on its pivot 31 by engagement of the projections 33 and 34 of said anchor with the projections of the star wheel. Pivotal connection 32 of the anchor with the lever 38 is thereby moved back and forth, causing the lever 3S to rock on its fulcrum 9 and to reciprocate the bar 6 through a stroke whose length depends on the setting of the fulcrum 9. The controlling device 13 being placed in position to bring the slot 12 therein in alinement with the line o, o, of reciprccation of the bar G, said bar is given a directreciprocating movement at all parts including the clamping or work and G and the work, including the fabric and button, is thereby caused to move back and forth, so as to bring thetwo button holes of the button alternately under the needle. After each stroke of the work holding bar in this manner the bar is stationary for a moment, while the ne-ed e bar is passing downwardly and during a portion of the upward stroke, so as to allow the needle to pass down through the button hole and fabric and make the stitch. The next movement .of the bar 6 carries the work under the needle bar so as to draw the thread across from one button hole to the other, this operation being repeated until a sufficient number of been made. The operation so described is especially adapted for two-hole buttons. ln four-hole buttons, two be made by setting the button rst for one rowof stitches and then Jfor another, but I lprefer in sewing fourhole buttons to use diagonal stitches, as but one'setting of the button is then required and the operation is much more expeditious, the cross diagonal stitches also giving a better fastening for the button In this case the button is set in position between the clamping members 5 and 6 with the respective button holes inthe our notches 17 of the slot 17. The controlling device 13 is then moved by its handle 16 to position to place the slot 12 therein at an angle or obliquely to the line b, b, as shown, for example, in Fig. 5. The machine being then set in operation as above described, the reciprocation of the bar 6 causes the pin 11 to travel longitudinally in the slot 12 and by reason of the Obliquity of said slot, said pin is given a lateral movement in its longitudinal operation and the lever 6 carrying said pin is thereby swung laterally so as to turn on its pivotal connection 7 to the operating lever 8 and to cause the outer or gripping portion 6 of the lever, with the member 5 and the work held between said members, to swing laterally to the line of reciprocation of the bar 6, giving a compound movement whose resultant is an oblique or diagonal movement indicated by the dotted line c, c, in Fig. 5, the work holding member moving between the eX- treme positions shown in full and dotted lines in said figures. The position of the needle bar remaining as indicated at y in said figure, the result of this operation is to cause a stitch to be eii'ected alternately in diagonally opposite corners of the slot 17, the length of the stroke being adjusted by setting the fulcrum lever 23 so that this diagonal movement carries the stitch from one button hole to the other. When suiiicient stitches have been made along this line, the controlling device 13 is shifted to position shown in Fig. 6 and then operates to guide the work holding bar so as to cause it to move between eXtreme positions shown in full and dotted lines in said figure and to sew a stitch along diagonally across the button transversely to the stitches first s-ewed.

In order to enable attachment of the device to different sewing machine tables, the pin 2 is inovably mounted on base plate 1, said pin being screwed or otherwise secured in any one of a series of holes 54: in plate 1.

To attach the bracket 3 to presser bar 3a a screw 22 on bar 3a engages with a slot 3.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A button sewing device comprising a base, a work holder provided with means for clamping the button to the fabric, an operating device mounted on said base and connected to said work holder to reciprocate the same, and a controlling device provided with guide means, and means on the work holder cooperating with said guide means to move the work holder-laterally with respect tothe line of reciprocation to give a diagonal movement to the work, said controlling device being pivotally mounted on said base so as to be angularly movable thereon independently of the motion of said work holder, and being provided with a handle for adjusting the same to vary the angular position of said guide means, and means for holding said controlling device in various adjusted positions.

- 2. A button sewing 'device comprising a base, a work holder provided with means for. clamping the button to the fabric, an

`operating device mounted on said base and connected to said work holder to reciprocate the same, and a controlling device provided with guide means, and means on the work holder coperating with said guide means to move the work holder laterally with respect to the line of reciprocation to give a diagonal movement to the work, said controlling device being pivotally mounted on said base so as to be angularly movable thereon independently of the motion of said work holder, and being provided with a handle Jfor adjusting the same to set said guide means in alinement with the line of reciprocation, so asto eliminate the lateral motion, or to set said guide means angularly to one side or the other of said alined position to produce lateral movement in one or the other direction so as to provide for crosswise diagonal movements of the work.

3. A button sewing device comprising a base, a work holder provided with means for clamping the button' to the fabric, an operating device mounted on said base and connected to said work holder to reciprocate the same, and a controlling device provided with guide means, means on the work holder cooperating with said guide means to move the work holder laterally with respect to the line of reciprocation to give a diagonal movement to the work, said controlling device being pivotally mounted on said base so as to be angularly movable thereon 'independently of the motion of said work holder, and being provided with a handle for adjusting the same to set said guide means in alinement with the line of reciprocation, so as to eliminate the lateral motion, or to set said guide means angularly to one side or the other of said alined position to produce lateral movement in one or the other direction so as to provide for crosswise diagonal movements of the work, and means for locking the controlling device in any of said positions.

11. In a button sewing device, a base plate having a circular hole, a disk rotatably fitting in said hole and provided with a slot extending' diametrically thereof, and With a handle for moving the same to diierentangular posit-ions, means engaging with said disk for holding the same in different angular positions, a Work holder slidably mounted on said disk and having a pin engaging in said slot to guide the Work holder, and means for reciprocating the Work holder.

5. In a button sewing device, a base plate having a circular hole, a. disk rotatably litting in said hole and provided with diametrically extending guide mea-ns, a Work holder slidably mounted on saiddisk and provided with means engaging said guide means to control the direction ofmotionof said Work holder according to the angular position of saiddisk, said diski having notches in its periphery and being provided with a handle for adjusting it to diiferent angular positions, and a spring dog on said base plate engaging said notches in the disk to hold the disk in adjusted position.

ln testimony whereof, l have hereunto set my handat Los Angeles, California, this 11th day of April, 1913.

HALL H. HOLDA'WAY. ln presence olf- G. T. HaoKmY, MARTHA- M. LANGE.

Copies of this patent may-be obtained for five centseach, b'yaddressing the Commissioner of atents, Washington; D. CL 

